Navigators Comcast and Lynn School Superintendent Announce
Skipper’s Comcast Reading Program
By Joseph Gravellese, North Shore Navigators
From the very beginning, North Shore Navigators owner Philip
Rosenfield has made his intentions clear: "We are a community
team. We are meant to be a positive force in Lynn.” Toward that
end, Rosenfield and the North Shore Navigators, in conjunction
with Lynn’s public schools and Comcast, have announced Skipper’s
Comcast Reading Program, an eight-week, incentive-based program
to encourage students in grades K-8 to reach reading goals.
The program, which is fully funded by Comcast, is named after
Skipper, the Navigators’ mascot. Skipper will make appearances
at participating Lynn schools throughout the program.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to really make a
difference in Lynn,” Rosenfield said. “We’re also grateful to
Comcast for being a great partner who shares our belief in the
importance of investing in the local community.”
Comcast Area Vice President Sue Wante explained that the
promotion of literacy is a key company goal at Comcast.
“We are committed to enriching the communities where our
customers and our employees live and work,” Wante said. “Reading
is a critical skill, and this partnership with the Navigators is
a great way to get kids excited about books.”
The program offers prizes to students who successfully “round
the bases” by meeting four reading goals set out by their
teachers. Teachers have the flexibility to tailor these goals
themselves.
The program will run in four two-week sessions from March 24
through May 23. Prizes will be awarded at the end of each
session. Students who hit a home run by completing all four
goals will receive complimentary tickets to Comcast Night at
Fraser Field. Before the game, students will be honored in a
ceremony on the field.
“Because reading is the most necessary step in the never-ending
process of acquiring information, no student should be without
both the process and the incentive to read,” said Kathy Hashian,
a Lynn educator who is directing the reading program. “It
behooves us as educators to encourage a lifetime habit of
reading for both information and enjoyment.”
Rosenfield stressed that encouraging students to read for
enjoyment fits in perfectly with the philosophy of the
Navigators. “Our approach to baseball is to have fun, and to
make it fun for everyone,” he said. “But you need to have a
direction in life –
thus our name, the Navigators. We want to be a part of sending
this positive message.”
Skipper’s Comcast Reading Program is one of many ways through
which the Navigators hope to become an integral part of the
community.
Each member of the Navigators will be living with host families
in Lynn and other surrounding communities. The team also plans
on hosting a number of community-based promotions and events
throughout the season. Additionally, the Navigators will be
welcoming many youth baseball teams to Fraser Field during the
summer to enjoy an affordable, entertaining night watching
America’s pastime with their families and friends.
“We want to make sure everyone has a part… we want this to be
community baseball,” Rosenfield stated at the team’s official
unveiling in December.
“Reading increases and enhances our knowledge base,” said
Hashian. “An informed society is a free society.”
The program follows in the footsteps of the North Shore Spirit
reading program, which was very popular and successful in its
four year run from 2004-2007. Hundreds of students from all over
the North Shore were honored at Lynn’s historic ballpark, and
the Navigators look forward to giving more students and parents
the opportunity to enjoy baseball while striving for educational
excellence.
The North Shore Navigators, the newest tenants of Lynn’s Fraser
Field, are members of the 12-team New England Collegiate
Baseball League. The NECBL is an elite, wood-bat summer league
for top collegiate baseball players from all over the country.
Notable alumni of the league include Major Leaguers Joe Nathan,
Sean Green, and Andre Ethier, as well as former Red Sox Mark
Malaska and Earl Snyder. Opening Day at Fraser Field is on June
7, when the Navigators will host the Vermont Mountaineers.
